Ouverture (Madeline Murphy) The French ouverture originated in French Baroque music of the seventeenth century. Jean-Baptiste Lully invented ouvertures to accompany King Louis XIV’s entrance into the opera hall. They were comprised of two or more sections, most typically two, that were, respectively, “homophonic and stately” and “faster and imitative” (Grove Dictionary). The first section included dotted rhythms, which assisted in creating a “pompous” and majestic nature to the piece (as in Lully’s Atys). Typically, the dotted rhythms were “over-dotted” (or “double-dotted”), meaning that the first note was stretched even longer than the dot technically suggested. The second section was a rapid and dance-like, which created a contrast to the first section. In the seventeenth century, ouvertures typically preceded ballets, operas, or oratorios (Grove Dictionary), to give them an air of importance, linked to music for royalty. To hear an example of a eighteenth-century ouverture that precedes a French opera, listen to the ouverture to Jean-Philippe Rameau’s Les Indes Galantes of 1735. As usage increased across Europe, the scope of the “overture” increased as well. Notably in the early eighteenth century, Bach used the term “ouverture” to refer to four of his pieces that are now more commonly called orchestral suites. They were large works comprised of several movements. The main tie to Lully’s idea of ouverture is their majestic opening movement, followed by a series of dances. In modern times, the term “overture” encompasses much more than its earlier French definition. It refers to an introductory orchestral piece that precedes a larger work. It does not necessitate multiple sections, but it generally does because of its length. It almost always ends with a faster, more exciting section; without it, it runs the risk of being called a “prelude” or “introduction” instead. Pieces of the same nature as overtures that do not precede larger works but are rather meant for orchestral concert programs may be called “concert overtures” (Grove Dictionary).